Deuteronomy 28:4, commentary and pictures

Blessed fruitfulness is promised for the body and the ground and the livestock, in children and families, in crops and fields, and in cattle and kine and sheep and flocks. These are earthly, material and temporal benefits of health and household well-being and prosperity and strength, given to a people living by God's instruction and set apart for Him. The blessing comes only on condition of diligently hearkening to the Lord's voice and keeping His commandments and statutes and judgments and law, for the covenant rests on conditions which God fulfills when they are fulfilled. Israel forfeited the favor by disobedience and unbelief and rebellion, so the blessing was altered and withheld and the adult army that left Egypt was refused entrance, while obedience brought prosperity and favor before the nations and departure into idolatry brought defeat and affliction until they cried to God for deliverance. The same principle holds now, blessing fruitful families and land and livestock and all the hand undertakes when God is honored with substance and firstfruits and His kingdom is sought first, while withholding tithes and offerings and degrading His law through wickedness robs of blessing and brings the curse heavier upon people and animals and vegetation.

Blessing and Its Conditions

The verse promises blessed fruitfulness and increase of body, ground and livestock — children and families, crops and fields, cattle and kine and sheep and flocks flourishing in the land given to Israel. Obedience to God's commandments brings this fertility and increase as part of His covenant promise to prosper His people when they diligently obey, heed and keep His commands. The fruitfulness of people, land and livestock is set forth as blessing for heeding and obeying God's statutes and judgments.

These are earthly, material and temporal benefits belonging to the blessings promised for obedience, including health, household well-being, prosperity and strength beyond other nations. They come to a people living according to God's instruction and remaining set apart for Him, with obedience linked to the well-being of the people and their households. The chapter states plainly that obedience brings prosperity, and the blessing of body, land and livestock stands among the temporal benefits God gives His people.

The blessing rests only upon condition of diligently hearkening to the Lord's voice and obeying His judgments, statutes, ordinances, law and Word, and is altered and withheld when His people disobey. A covenant is an agreement between parties based upon conditions, which God verifies when the conditions are fulfilled by obedience to the divine law. To expect the blessing while violating the conditions upon which alone it could be bestowed is presumption.

The words are the voice of Christ from the enfolding pillar of cloud, stated plainly in Deuteronomy 26, 27 and 28 to express the principles of the law of God's kingdom made specific so minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty. They lay a never-ceasing obligation on all whom God has blessed with life and health and advantages in temporal and spiritual things. The message has not grown weak because of age, and God's claims under it are just as binding now and just as fresh in importance as God's gifts are fresh and continual.

Obedience that brings the blessing exalts Israel and makes the people representatives of God's goodness, mercy and love, marking those who keep His commandments as His peculiar people. These blessings include health and protection from sickness, while turning from God places people under Satan's destructive power. The God of heaven places a benediction on fields, flocks, herds, vineyards and all the hand undertakes for those who put serving God first and seek His kingdom and righteousness, and every specification of the law is the character of the infinite God and cannot be trampled as not binding.

History and Present Application

God was faithful to the promise and was not chargeable for Israel's misfortunes and delay in possessing Canaan. The people broke their solemn pledge, transgressed His holy requirements, and forfeited His favor by disobedience, distrust, unbelief, pride and rebellion. The promise of blessing on children, crops, cattle and sheep was made only upon condition of obedience to His judgments, statutes and ordinances, and read with Deuteronomy 1 it shows why the adult men of the army that left Egypt were refused entrance into the promised land, because they did not wholly follow Him and keep His Word. That blessing is altered and withheld when His people disobey.

Had the nation as a nation submitted to His authority by being governed by His judgments and as individuals walked in His ordinances, maintaining a high standard of purity and holiness free from the sins of the Canaanite nations, they would long ago have been settled in Canaan as a prosperous, holy, happy people, and He would have manifested His mighty power in their deliverance and protection before all nations to His glory. The promise was abundant fruitfulness in families, crops and livestock if they obeyed Him after leaving Egypt and kept His righteous law, belonging to the wider prosperity and increase that would mark obedience and display His favor before other nations. When they obeyed He went before them and sent prosperity, making them always a terror to the heathen nations around them. When they followed rebellious hearts into departure from God and idolatry they forfeited that blessing, so He let other nations overcome them to humble and punish them, leaving them weak and a prey to their enemies. When in affliction they cried to Him He heard them and raised up a ruler to deliver them from their enemies, though they were blinded to the fact that their sins had caused Him to depart from them.

Prosperity and adversity came according to obedience or transgression, for the blessing on offspring, crops and livestock was part of the prosperity sent when His law was obeyed. The blessings promised for obedience stand set against the curses and fearful results threatened for transgression, so people must choose whether to suffer the consequences of disobedience or enjoy the blessings of obedience. As people disobey, the curse grows heavier upon people, animals, trees and vegetation.

The sacred power for prosperity lay not in the ark itself but in the law of God that gave the ark its sacredness, so the presence of the ark would bring prosperity only as that law was obeyed. A covenant is an agreement between parties based upon conditions, and He verifies His promises when the conditions are fulfilled by obeying the divine law. To expect the blessing while violating the conditions upon which alone it could be bestowed is presumption.

Diligent hearkening to the voice of the Lord, doing what is right in His sight, and keeping His commandments and statutes brings blessing and preservation from disease, that His people may live in health and holiness and learn obedience. These blessings included health and protection from sickness and exaltation as representatives of His goodness, mercy and love. Disease comes because of sin and transgressing the law of God, which breaks down the protective barriers He erected to preserve His people from disease. Turning from Him instead places the people under Satan's destructive power.

The same principle of blessing through obedience that gave fruitful families, land and livestock illustrates His blessings to individuals and nations now. Prosperity, including the fruitfulness of the land, depends on heeding His law. When people degrade His law through wickedness and violence, He withdraws blessing from orchard and vineyard. He extends mercy and restrains judgment because of the righteous who love and fear Him.

The promise applies to honoring Him with substance and firstfruits and to putting service of Him first and seeking His kingdom and His righteousness. If people keep His commandments He places a benediction on fields, flocks, herds, vineyards and all they put their hand to, adding all these things to those who put serving Him first. Their barns would be filled when they gave faithfully, while withholding tithes and offerings meant robbing themselves of blessing. Keeping the commandments marks His peculiar people, and the law cannot be trampled as not binding, because every specification in the law is the character of the infinite God. The material increase of family, crops and livestock illustrates the blessing and success He gives His people, as in His blessing on the work at Loma Linda to show that He is supreme and lead people to consider the truth.